The present invention relates in general to automobile body seals and moldings and, in particular, to an assembly for sealing a vehicle door to a body.
Seals and seal assemblies are used extensively in the automotive industry to, for example, prevent water and foreign objects from entering the vehicle interior and decrease the level of wind noise experienced by the vehicle's passengers. Frameless glass and door assemblies are becoming more common in production vehicles because of customers' preference of their aesthetically pleasing look as well as the requirements for convertible vehicles and the like. A common problem with frameless glass and door assemblies, however, is that sealing the surfaces of the door glass, the vehicle door and mirror patch (a sheet metal extension from the vehicle door to which the side view mirror assembly is attached), and the vehicle body at the A pillar (the roof pillar adjacent the vehicle door) is difficult to accomplish.
Some prior art seals have a thin rubber seal bridging the door side primary seal path for sealing on the door glass to the door inner panel at the top of the mirror flag. Other prior art seals include an adjustable mirror patch that can be adjusted to compensate for the position of the side door glass. Still other prior art seals have the outside rear view mirror mounted to the side door outer panel. Each of these prior art seals, however, have experienced problems including, but not limited to, poor seal performance, visible joint locations, complexity of assembly and adjustment, and limitations on styling flexiblity.
It is desirable, therefore, to provide an improved sealing assembly for sealing a vehicle door to a body, especially for frameless glass and door assemblies.